San Diegos Longest Running DJ School

We’re just getting word via Facebook and other sources that beloved local hip-hop DJ Matthew Africapassed away this Monday in a car accident. He was 40.

His sister, Julia Africa, posted the following on Facebook:

My brother, Matthew Africa, was killed in a car accident on Monday afternoon. He and his beloved wife, Ha Le, were returning from a trip to Yosemite when their car collided with a big rig on a highway near Modesto. They tell us he died instantly; miraculously, she survived with multiple fractures. His absence is unbearable. Please keep our families in your thoughts and prayers.

Africa was heading northbound in his 2001 Volkswagen Beetle on Highway 33 just north of West Stanislaus Road at about 2:45 p.m. Sunday when he veered off the road for unknown reasons, according to a CHP report. His Beetle hit shoulder gravel, steered back onto the highway and spun in a clockwise direction and into the southbound lane before striking a 2000 Peterbilt driven by Hector Alvarez, 23, of Newman, according to the CHP. Africa was pronounced dead at the scene from injuries while his passenger, Ha Le Cow, 38, of Berkeley was taken by air ambulance to Doctors Medical Center for treatment of what was described as major injuries.

Africa was well-known among the community of Bay Area hip-hop DJs, having first made a name for himself with a show on UC Berkeley’s KALX radio station. We’ve posted his work several times on All Shook Down, including a mix he made last year of the best of Bay Area rapper E-40.

Various tributes are pouring in across Twitter and Facebook. “My heart is hurting so much right now,” Tweeted Oakland Faders DJ Platurn. “This is so fucked.”

“Peace go with you Matthew,” Tweeted local DJ King Most. “Strength to all your loved ones. Damn.”

We’re still gathering details on what happened and will update this post when we have more information. A memorial service has yet to be announced.

As a warm-up for the 45 Sessions party, I made a little mix, pulling out about 100 records and sort of going from there. It’s mostly 70s era funk and soul– lots of classics, some recent favorites, some oddities. Hopefully there’s some “oh shit, it’s great to hear that”, some “wait, what the hell is that?” and maybe an “ooh, he’s got that?” or “wait, that’s on 45?!?” or two.